The Unavoidable Topic Awaiting Hu in the U.S.: Oil

When President Hu Jintao arrives at the White House on Thursday morning for his first official visit as China’s leader, he will be confronted with a host of American worries about oil.
Washington fears that China’s soaring demand is helping drive prices to more than $70 a barrel, and that Hu is presiding over a carefully orchestrated strategy to secure exclusive supplies for his country

from some of the world’s most repressive regimes.